Orlando music blog & zine

Tag: DIY

In June we released our first zine, a compilation of photos and memories from our tour dairy with Me Chinese. This was originally intended to be a one-off. But, everyone at ZINE FEST was so encouraging, we couldn’t just stop. So with the support of a bunch of really talented Orlando artists, zine two is on the way. And after of the amazing time we had at our first show, WE ARE ANIMALS, we’ve decided to release the zine at a party with all our friends.

The Vinyl Warhol is an extension of the Orlando arts community, not just the music community, and we’re doing something a little different. We’re making a sandwich. Three bands will serve as the hearty bread, with spoken word in between slices as the pb & j in your ears. Orlando’s finest zines (ours is mediocre in comparison) will be set up like fine potato salad to feed your brain more syntax. Doors are at 8:30, music starts at 9:30 p.m. Enjoy your meal, menu below!

Huge thanks to Orlando musician/graphic artist, Cory Young, for our poster. If you see it around, steal it.

MUSIC

The Knick-Knacks

The Knick-Knacks came to me via my friends in Pathos, Pathos at 3:30 a.m., in between my botched front flips into the band’s shared pool. The much more coordinated band members of Pathos2 praised the Melbourne-based garagesters’ live chops and catchy melodies. Coincidentally, one of their songs is called “CannonBall.”

yogurt smoothness

Almost two years ago — yes, we’ve been doing this shit that long — I wrote the twelfth post to appeared this blog, “Hometown Heroes: yogurt smoothness.” Baby writer, Matthew Weller, said, “The two create a wall of sound, punching you in the chest, demanding lunch money.” This was actually the first time I wrote about an Orlando band. Now, approximately 250 posts later, they’re playing our second show. Talk about “full circle.

adam and the plastic

I met two members of adam and the plastic at a barbecue joint on Colonial. I was talking about another project that’s in the works, and they wanted to play it. That’s still happening (wait for it, I am excited) and this is happening too. Do you like your indie rock unshaven and sounding like something fresh from The Factory? Maybe you don’t even know what that means. Maybe you think I’m insane. Listen to this:

ZINES

Tittie-Thyme

Tittie-Thymeis an exceptional group of people. Their ideology is empowerment and community, a theme that engulfs every release. Emotive personal stories, interesting how-tos, and humorous anecdotes will leave you walking away having learned something (why do I sound like a kid from Reading Rainbow?). Women are their focus. But their audience is genderless.

Is It Over Yet?

A bunch of punks got together and made Is It Over Yet?. And it’s fucking beautiful. Their zines are filled with drawings and paintings and poetry and photographs and essays, all done with authenticity and feeling. Looking through IIOY?’s releases is like strolling through a back alley art gallery. What you find is probably going to be hard to look at, but it’s going to grab ahold of you and demand something immediately.

let’s kiss

let’s kissis a zine orchestrated by our own KARINA CURTO! She compiled a bunch of first kiss/time stories from her friends, and they’re really good reads. These are packaged along with some personal photos and artwork. I love it because it’s so Karina.

SPOKEN WORD

Spoken word will be taking place before each band, and if we have enough people who want to read, after. I was sleeping on the Orlando spoken word circuit for a while, but my eyes are now open, and I can see.

It’s been a few weeks since The Space closed its doors. It was weird. One second we were putting on our first show at The Space, and in what seemed to be a blink of the eye, it was gone. I didn’t feel the shock. The Space closing didn’t really seem to surprise anyone, and I think that’s because we had been expecting the fall for so long. Back in December, I remember hearing rumors that The Space wasn’t going to be around much longer. And more and more, it seemed that Meg McNash – The Space’s de facto booker – was fighting to keep the blood pumping. And she should be proud. Orlando should be proud. The Space was never meant to be The Social or Backbooth. It wasn’t, or at least didn’t feel like, a venue. The Space was more of a creative celebration or a social experiment, meant to see what Orlando was capable of.

“So they burned it down, so build another one. Don’t go on to me that they burned it down, BUILD ANOTHER ONE. YOU’RE THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE GONNA DO IT!”

– Patti Smith

After a extended stay in denial, this Patti Smith quote, delivered by local spoken-word artist Young Moon, pushed me directly to acceptance. The excerpt is from a piece he read at the final edition of Speakeasy, a monthly poetry and spoken-word night at Will’s Pub that ran for over 13 years. In a city where bars and venues close down so suddenly, how could this line not resonate? Because avenues of expression may die, but as long as we keep pushing, the creativity within the community will continue to thrive. We should remember The Space for what it was, what it meant to everyone who visited. To some, it was a hot as shit venue. I, in a previous article titled “Why is The Space Important?,” more lovingly described it as, “… a prime location to witness Orlando’s growing cultural impact” and, “[An] artistic mecca home to a variety of celebrations and group expression.”

But I agree, it was hot as shit. And we didn’t care. Some of my best memories since moving to Orlando were at The Space: my best friend crowd surfing during a packed Me Chinese set, seeing Tiger Fawn for the first time at SPACE FEST 2, putting on my first show with all my friends! The Space was great. It left its mark on me. And I know everyone reading this right now has stories like mine. You’re marked too. And hopefully, you’ll want to keep this artistic community alive by starting your own iteration of The Space or supporting local venues like The Space Station, Uncle Lou’s, or Will’s Pub. So thank you to The Space, Meg, and the entire Orlando community. The Space will always be the place.

“The idea of a place for us to teach in, to rehearse and play in that is kept afloat based on the efforts of the community is such a next-level, foreign concept for us. Maybe this is our chance to evolve as a unit and directly support each other’s passions and art forms.”

The name-your-price option has been a popular release option for DIY bands like DoGs. If you’re feeling generous, you can support the band by throwing a few bucks their way (I gave $1 million). If you’re strapped for cash, you can always go for my favorite price, $free.99.